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China (Hong Kong)Avian Influenza
The Chinese government announced on 03 Feb 2002 that health officials
will destroy 100,000 chickens at a Hong Kong farm in an effort to
prevent a new outbreak of avian flu. The farm was placed under quarantine
on 02 Feb 2002 after 120 birds from the farm were found dead at the
wholesale poultry market they were taken to for inspection. Blood
and offal samples for testing were collected by health officials.
The birds reportedly did not look well since 03 Jan 2001 and about
30,000 of them have died as of 04 Feb 2002. According to officials,
the sick chickens were limited to just one farm and the incident is
an isolated one. In May of 2001 avian flu infected thousands of chickens
and the government destroyed 1.37 million birds as a result.
[Promed 02/03/02]

AMERICAS

United States (Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska)Chronic Wasting
Disease
Both wild and captive deer and elk testing positive for chronic wasting
disease (CWD) have been found in areas of Colorado, Wyoming, and Nebraska.
CWD belongs to a class of diseases, transmissible spongiform encephalopathy
(TSE), which include Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy and "new
variant" CreutzfeldtJakob Disease (vCJD). The disease attacks
the brains of infected deer and elk, causing the animals to become
emaciated, display abnormal behavior, lose bodily functions, and die.

Four fawns in Sioux County, Nebraska ranging in age from six to eight
months old tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD), according
to reports on 26 Jan 2002. The fawns, which did not show any physical
symptoms of the disease, were part of a highly infected captive herd
in the northwestern part of Nebraska. Officials are not certain how
the fawns in Nebraska became infected, but it is believed that the
illness was not passed on in the womb. It is thought that close physical
contact between an infected doe and her fawn after birth is the vehicle.
CWD first appeared in Nebraska in 1997, when an infected animal was
found in a captive herd.

News that the disease has turned up in freeroaming deer in Nebraska
prompted a review of Colorado's efforts to contain CWD. Colorado State
agricultural officials are considering a quarantine of all wild deer
and elk killed in northeastern Colorado in an attempt to bring the
spread of chronic wasting disease (CWD) to an end. Under the proposed
quarantine deer and elk killed by hunters, game wardens, or ranchers
or deer and elk found dead in endemic areas would not be removed from
the area without being checked for CWD. If any test positive, they
would be disposed of in hightemperature furnaces.
[Promed 01/31/02, 02/01/02; Associated Press 02/02/02]

United States (Washington)New Mosquito Species
West Nile Virus (WNV), a virus that is carried by mosquitoes, may
cause encephalitis in horses, birds, and humans. The virus first emerged
in 1999 in the eastern United States and continues to be detected
in regions further westward. In 2001, 47 human cases of WNV encephalitis
occurred in eight eastern states resulting in four deaths. West Nile
Virus has not yet been reported in Washington, but cases of western
equine encephalitis (WEE) and St. Louis encephalitis (SLE) have occurred
previously in Washington State in horses and humans. The mosquitoes
that carry WEE and SLE are thought to be widespread throughout the
state.

A mosquito species previously not found in the western United States,
Ochlerotatus japonicus japonicus, was recently discovered in
Washington State by the Washington WNV surveillance project. The newly
discovered Asian mosquito, formerly known as Aedes japonicus,
is difficult to control because it deposits eggs in areas where water
may collect and is harder to avoid because it bites during the day.
The surveillance program has also identified other potential mosquito
carriers of WNV, western equine encephalitis (WEE) and St. Louis encephalitis
(SLE) in other areas of Washington. In 2002 officials will concentrate
on ascertaining the geographic distribution of this new species of
mosquito in Washington State. The collection and analysis of dead
birds that are susceptible to WNV has begun, but no birds have tested
positive for WNV in Washington. A project report can be found at http://www.doh.wa.gov/Publicat/2002_news/WestNileVirusSurv.pdf.
[Washington State Department of Health News Releases http://www.doh.wa.gov/Publicat/2002_News/02㪡.htm]

RELATED NEWS

VenezuelaHemorrhagic Fever Outbreak
Eighteen cases of Venezuelan hemorrhagic fever (VHF), or Guanarito
hemorrhagic fever, have been confirmed in the Venezuelan states of
Portuguesa (15 cases) and Barinas (three cases). VHF, which is caused
by an arenavirus called Guanarito virus, is characterized by high
fever, headache, sore throat, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting,
seizures, and bleeding of the nose and gums. The fatality rate ranges
between 30 to 40 percent. In 2002 two deaths as a results of infection
have occurred in Venezuela, as of 01 Feb. To date, this disease has
been limited to Venezuela. Samples from patients with a suspected
infection are being analyzed by the National Institute of Hygiene.
[Promed 02/03/02, 02/04/02]

2. UPDATES

Republic of the Congo and GabonEbola Hemorrhagic Fever
On 31 Jan 2002 the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that
the outbreak of Ebola hemorrhagic fever in Gabon and the Republic
of Congo is under control. On 20 January 2002, the Gabonese government
reported ten laboratoryconfirmed and 16 epidemiologically linked
cases as well as 22 suspected cases under investigation.
As of 20 January 2002, 16 confirmed cases have been reported in villages
in the Republic of the Congo. The outbreak has killed 23 people in
Gabon and 11 people in the Republic of Congo. Ebola, which spreads
through contact with bodily fluids and causes bloody diarrhea as well
as vomiting, kills 50 to 90 percent of those infected. Infected individuals
usually die within two weeks of massive blood loss.
[World Health Organization Update 15]

3. NOTICES

Vietnam Plans to Produce AIDS Drugs
According to reports, an anonymous government official with the AntiAIDS
Permanent Office (AAPO) revealed on
04 Feb 2002 that Vietnam proposes to make lowcost copies of internationally
patented AIDS drugs available in Vietnam. The AAPO plan will be sent to
the prime minister for approval in May and will include the development
of traditional herbal medicines.

Currently, Vietnam can only afford a small quantity of AIDS drugs although
it is reported that, as of 30 Nov 2001, 42,365 people in Vietnam had tested
positive for HIV and 6,343 have developed AIDS. Experts estimate that
the actual HIV infection figure for Vietnam could be as much as 130,000
to 135,000 people. Vietnam, which spends approximately US$3.3 million
a year to combat HIV/AIDS through education and prevention, is capable
of producing AIDS drugs for about $200 to $400 per patient per year. In
contrast, the cost charged by international pharmaceutical companies is
approximately $8,000 to $12,000 per year. Settlement of drug company intellectual
property rights has yet to occur.
[SEAAIDS 02/04/02]

Launch of "Access to Research" Internet Initiative
The World Health Organization (WHO) has collaborated with publishers to
provide free access to biomedical journals through the "Access to
Research" initiative. Through this initiative health professionals
and policy makers in about 70 developing countries will obtain free access
through the Internet to more than 1,000 different biomedical journals
produced by the six biggest medical journal publishers. In 2001 WHO and
the British Medical Journal brought together developing countries concerned
about the cost of access to biomedical journals and the six biggest medical
journal publishers in order to achieve a more affordable pricing structure
for online access to international biomedical journals. The journal publishers
include: Blackwell, Elsevier Science, the Harcourt Worldwide STM Group,
Wolters Kluwer International Health & Science, Springer Verlag and
John Wiley.

Previously, subscriptions to electronic and print versions of these journals
have been priced uniformly for institutions, irrespective of geographical
location. The average subscription costs several hundred dollars per year,
many costing more than US$1,500 per year. Beginning 31 Jan 2002, the journals
were made available for no charge or at significantly reduced charges
to institutions in specified developing countries through the Health InterNetwork
website at http://www.healthinternetwork.net/.

The Health InterNetwork was launched by Secretary General of the United
Nations, Kofi Annan, in September 2000 and is led by the World Health
Organization. It has brought together public and private partners in order
to provide equitable access to health information. In the future WHO and
the publishers will work with the Open Society Institute of the Soros
Foundations Network and other public and private partners to extend the
initiative. The "Access to Research" initiative will be monitored
for progress and is expected to last for at least three years.

Global Business Council Awards for Business Excellence 2002
In an effort to recognize innovative responses to HIV and AIDS in private
sector business companies worldwide the Global Business Council on HIV/AIDS
will present its Awards for Business Excellence on 16 May 2002 in New
York City, United States. The Global Business Council instituted these
awards in 1998 to recognize the valuable contributions made by businesses
to the fight against HIV/AIDS and encourage companies to make HIV/AIDS
a central business issue.

The Council will receive entries from businesses that have contributed
to problem of HIV and AIDS in any of the following ways: raising HIV/AIDS
awareness; supporting people with HIV/AIDS at work as well as challenging
stigma and discrimination in the wider community; making resources available
for HIV/AIDS initiatives; recognizing the importance of children and young
people; and involvement with local, national or international efforts
to counter HIV/AIDS. Details and entry forms can be found at http://www.businessfightsaids.org/.

APEC Networks of Networks Meeting 2002
The "Network of Networks" meeting organized by Asia Pacific
Economic Cooperation (APEC) Emerging Infections Network (EINet) with financial
support of the US Government (Departments of State, Department of Health
and Human Services, Center for Disease Control, and Department of Defense)
and technical support from the World Health Organization, (regional offices
of WPRO, PAHO, and SEARO) convened in Seattle, Washington 2830 Jan
2002. Health professionals and network operators from 14 APEC economies
and a total of 17 countries met to discuss the possible collaboration
of surveillance networks in the Asia Pacific. The meeting consisted of
presentations, round tables, and group discussions in an effort to inform
meeting participants of existing networks and to formulate a consensus
about the desirability and feasibility of a network of networks. Overall,
the meeting was successful and will lead to further discussions of the
potential relationships between networks. Concrete subsequent steps towards
enhanced collaboration in the region were outlined. More information on
the meeting will be available on the APEC EINet website at: http://apec.org/infectious
by the publication date of the next EINET bulletin.

4. JOURNAL ARTICLESGenome Sequence of Ralstonia Solanacearum
Bacterial wilt caused by Ralstonia solanacearum is one of the most important
bacterial plant diseases worldwide. The complete genome sequence of this
soilborne pathogen that infects plant roots is published in the 31 Jan
2002 issue of Nature. The article describes an analysis of predicted functions
encoded in the 5.8 megabase genome of R. solanacearum strain GMI1000,
a strain isolated from tomato. In their report, the French scientists emphasize
the pathogenicity of the gramnegative bacteria.
[M Salanoubat, S Genin, F Artiguenave, et al. Genome sequence of the plant
pathogen Ralstonia solanacearum Nature 415; 497𤯦.]

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